Numerous types of vehicle racks for carrying surfboards, skis, snowboards, kayaks and other elongated objects are known in the relevant art. Each of these vehicle racks has various advantages and disadvantages, including initial cost of the vehicle rack itself, the ease with which the vehicle rack can be mounted and removed from the vehicle, the relative ease with which the elongated object(s) can be secured in the vehicle rack, the number of elongated object(s) readily mounted therein, etc. In the past, a common type of vehicle rack included a pair of static vehicle rack assemblies adapted to be secured across the vehicle, typically in a paired spaced relationship upon a vehicle rooftop. Each assembly typically included a lower elongated member and an upper elongated member attached to the lower member so as to form an inverted U shaped structure. The raised cross-sectional profile adds to aerodynamic resistance and allows aerodynamic forces to be generated on the undersides of the elongated object(s) which requires additional structural integrity to ensure that the added aerodynamic forces do not overcome the restraints used to anchor the elongated object(s) to the vehicle rack assemblies.
In addition, metal frame based vehicle racks tend to be heavy, cumbersome to setup and disassemble, require multiple parts, are subject to corrosion, particularly when exposed to saltwater environments and lastly are bulky to store. Accordingly, there is a need in the relevant art for a lightweight and low cost vehicle rack that is simple to setup, remove and store and avoids one or more of the undesirable properties of vehicle racks known in the relevant art.